


Notches on the wall

by Rogercat



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Childhood, F/M, Family Drama, Family Secrets, Female Maedhros, Formenos, Fourth Age, Gen, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Half-Siblings, Little Brothers, Sibling Love, Siblings, Teasing, Teenagers, Toddlers, Valinor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 16:33:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16223009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rogercat/pseuds/Rogercat
Summary: Fëanor and Nerdanel knows that in some ways, their grandchildren mirrors their own children at the same age





	Notches on the wall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lidoshka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lidoshka/gifts).



> I was inspired by some drawings on DA by Greenapplefreak for this

If there was one thing Fëanor had been used to do back in the Years of the Trees when things was more happy, so was it to carefully mark each one of his children's growth pattern with notches on the wall. From what Mahtan had sent in messengers, the house in Tirion was still standing but only cared for by Mahtan and his wife because there had been people wanting to tear it down in a outrage over the Oath. 

  
  


Here in Formenos, it was his grandchildren marked in that way instead as they grew. Today he and Nerdanel was watching their youngest descendants, as Maedhros was on a mission outside the city and could not exactly bring all her children along.  

 

“He is narrowly just past Rûsa's notch at that age,” Fëanor said after checking the mark he had just added to the wall. The grandchild in question, was his currently-youngest grandson Yuë, held in the strong arms of his older brother. 

 

“Rather that than below, Yuë is tiny enough as it is,” said Rûsa with a quick look down on his little brother. 

 

“I find it hard to imagine that you were tiny once, big brother. Even Frëja is bigger than him, and she was not born six months premature!” commented their middle sister Cúwen all suddenly with a meaningful look at their cousin Celebrimbor's half-Dwarven daughter who was already freely walking on her own feet across the front yard, and the small albino responded with a soundless wail in protest over what he just had said, born mute as he was. It was only a few weeks since Yuë had managed to finally walk a few trembling steps on his own, still needing some kind of support to held on.  

 

“Now that was a mean thing to say, Cúwen. You know that Yuë struggles with enough health issues already…” Fëanor warned her while Rûsa tried to calm down his baby brother from the crying fit. Finally, after several minutes, did Yuë calm down a little, though it was rather that all the crying caused a coughing fit for him instead, and that naturally made him upset yet again while Fëanor sent Cúwen to one of the empty guest rooms with the order to stay there for a hour as punishment for her words.

 

“Not your day today indeed, little brother…and Cúwen did not meant to be mean against you, I think she just said it without thinking,” Rûsa attempted to soothe the toddler, doing his best to ignore the pain from his hair as Yuë pulled on his long braid in one tiny fist. Some more tears, and silent sobs.  

 

“Come, let's get up on the roof and play with your favorite tools, the day is too fine to be indoors when the sun is shining and the weather is warm.”

  
  


After getting some soft toys and a blanket gathered in a bag he could carry over the shoulder without needing to move Yuë from his favorite position by being held in some adult's arms, Rûsa passed by a room where their grandmother had a large mirror for when she needed to make herself extra good-looking like for a festival. 

 

“Mirror mirror on the wall, why does brother Rûsa look so different from the rest of the family?”  

 

Of course Cúwen would not just silently obey their grandfather and stay in the guest room, she had become a bit rebellious since her own toddlerhood and often dared to cross small limits in what she was allowed to do. And Rûsa was not surprised over that she must have spotted the differences in their rather limited shared appearance from Maedhros, especially now when Yuë had been added into the family. 

 

Sensing a chance to get even on her since Yuë was still a little too small to be able to get revenge on his fifteen years older sister, Rûsa said in a rather loud voice while passing by the room: 

 

“ _ That is because Ammë adopted me...from the Wood clan. _ ” 

  
  


“ **GRAAAAAANDMAAAAA!!!** ”  

 

Deliberately ignoring Cúwen calling for her in that upset voice since they knew that she most likely tried to get attention during her punishment, Nerdanel and Fëanor kept focusing on having tea with Frëja. Or rather, Fëanor distracted his great-granddaughter by holding a picture book in front of her in his lap, so he could have his tea in peace from grabby hands.  

 

“Any ideas how we should explain to the kids why Rûsa was so small for a one-year-old Elfling? It is not like we can tell them that he is a reborn, not yet at least, they would not really understand it.”

 

“Just say that he was that kind of Elfling who struggled with nursing the first months after birth and that it affected his growth at first,” Fëanor responded calmly while keeping a eye on what Frëja was doing.   


End file.
